How much did a Packard run you, back in 1951? How about a little (?) house in Hamline?

Pioneer Press

Posted:
09/16/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated:
09/18/2013 08:25:12 AM CDT

The Permanent Grandsonly Record

Writes SHARON of Roseville: "On Tuesday, Sept. 17 [Bulletin Board interjects: Hey, what do you know, that's today!], my oldest grandchild, Jake, will be 15. He towers over me now that he has reached 6-foot-2 -- a grandson I can look up to.

"Last Tuesday, he helped me teach another genealogy class; he navigates the technology while I talk, but he loves to jump in and tease me. We have the natural camaraderie of the grandparent and grandchild who have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together. I realize that my technical assistant will move on to many other interests in the near future, and I will be at a loss as to how teach a class alone.

"Jake's personal charisma has been apparent from early on, as you can see by this picture, and it continues into the teenage years.

"The time passes so quickly, but I am not sad to see him move on as he explores what life has to offer him. He is filled with curiosity about everything, and I know that that thirst for knowledge will be with him, as with his grandma, all the days of his life. And that is the guarantee that we will never be bored."

"There has been one wall in my basement, way back in the furnace corner, that has had moisture on the inside surface of the cement block for far too long. After all the rain this past spring, I couldn't ignore that condition any longer.

"Last week, Wayne, the Landscaper Extraordinaire, came to my rescue. He could see that the slope outside that area came back toward the house, and also discovered two old pipes just above the surface, right in that spot, which had remained when someone converted the house from oil to gas, and which had become a conduit for moisture. The solution was to dig down about two feet, cut those pipes out of there, put expanding foam on the inside cement block at that spot, lay down some heavy plastic, put new fill in there, and then some new decorative landscaping rock banked up against the foundation.

"What we discovered during the process was a wad of yellowed, brownish, brittle newspaper that had been stuffed in a huge crack in one of the cement blocks about two feet down. I carefully tried to unwad the paper, looking for a publication date, but it would disintegrate in my hand. I ended up with enough bits and pieces to see that it was a section of the Pioneer Press from Wednesday, June 20, 1951. It had been buried down there for 62 years!

"Fitting a few pieces together, I read that you could rent a room at the Earle Hotel in St.

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Paul for $6 a week. Packards, Studebakers and Nashes sold for about $1,500. There was the score of a Washington Senators (later to become the Minnesota Twins) baseball game. Ted Lindsay, star forward of the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL, was engaged to Patricia Ann Snell of Detroit. Twenty-nine-year-old Pete Kramer had just been named basketball coach at Johnson High School. A home listed in the Hamline District for $9,350 -- $1,500 down. And an ad in the 'Help Wanted -- Female' employment section read: 'Women to work at White Castle on University Avenue $36-$87.50 per week, 2 wk pd vacation, meals, uniforms, bonus, sick benefits provided.'

"It's amazing that ANY of that paper was still somewhat intact."

Plus Ã§a change, plus Ã§a change...

John in Highland: "Recently, when commenting on the politics surrounding Eisenhower's visit to St. Paul in 1956, I said that some things never change [BB, 8/29/2013]. This got me to thinking about my only other chance to see a president or vice president.

"It was in July of 2000 when Vice President Al Gore came to town to meet up with his buddy, Governor Turnbuckle (Jesse). I happened to be walking along Snelling in the late afternoon when I heard sirens and saw fast-moving police cars. Next came several SUV's swerving and racing by at about 50 mph. It was Gore, and he must have been hungry because he was speeding to meet up with Jesse at the St. Clair Broiler. There was absolutely no opportunity to actually see Gore, because all of the windows had been blacked out and a person would not have been able to determine in which of the SUV's he was riding.

"The thought occurred to me that this was quite different from the open-top convertible ride that Ike had taken down Summit Avenue.

"I have been reading Bulletin Board pretty much since its inception and have had some stories published, but this is the first time a posting has helped me fix something I own that I thought was beyond help.

"Friday's post from Norton's mom piqued my interest. She wrote of Googling (love that verbing!) a possible resolution to her camera's blank LCD screen and finding a unique solution. After reading it, I jumped up and dug out my old camera. I had given up on the camera after the same problem happened to me, but could not bear to just throw it away. After putting in fresh batteries, I followed the instructions:

"1. 'Hold camera firmly in left hand.'

"2. 'Smartly rap front of camera with knuckles of right hand on the "Cyber-shot" logo.'

"And voila, it works! I just sat there with my mouth open, amazed at how simple it was. Then I just had to go and show my 19-year-old son. He is frequently irritated with my refusal to buy something new, if I can fix the old one. This shows him!

"So, thanks to Norton's mom. You proved that in this 'disposable' society, there is hope for us old diehards who still believe in a product lasting longer than the next upgrade!"

Life as we know it

Al B of Hartland: "If you are holding all the cards, they haven't been dealt yet."

"My question: Is it an oxymoron to be 'tireless' while working at Tires Plus?"

BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: Maybe so -- but it's certainly better than being "tired."

Darnedest things

WARNING! Cute kid story ahead, from Sally, the cleaning lady of Shoreview: "Last night I heard a story about 'twinklers' -- first-year Suzuki violin students who learn positions and rhythms using 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' as the base.

"Our little twinkler had a mind of her own even when she was first learning the violin, at age 5. A couple of years ago, I ran into her Suzuki teacher, and he reminded me of one episode he thinks of whenever he remembers her. (She studied with him till she finished high school.) She/we were in the middle of a lesson when Amy began dancing around in obvious discomfort. I asked if she had to go to the bathroom. 'No.' A few minutes passed, and the dancing continued with greater agitation. I asked again. 'NO, Mom. I don't HAVE to go!' More time passed ... maybe 45 seconds ... when she suddenly dropped to her knees and said: 'NOW I have to go.' "